Mark Sullivan was uprooted Tuesday from his decade-long hold on his commissioner’s seat after he was defeated by Chris Chmiel for the Democratic nomination.
In November, Chmiel will battle two other candidates — Randy Mace and Anne Cornwell — for Sullivan’s seat in the general election.
“I am a real person as well as a candidate. I follow through, and people all over the county know that because they know who I really am,” Chmiel said. “That is my edge.”
As a write-in candidate, Mace acquired enough votes to appear on the November ballot. Cornwell announced her candidacy as an independent after the unofficial results were filed.
Also in November, incumbent Larry Payne will defend his seat against Democratic contender Charlie Adkins, who won his primary election Tuesday.
Chmiel won with 2,105 votes (30.95 percent), followed by Paul “Smoke” Barrett with 1,999 (29.39 percent), according to results from the Athens County Board of Elections.
Mike O’Brien narrowly defeated Sullivan with 1,187 votes (17.45 percent), over Sullivan’s 1,163 votes (17.1 percent).
Robert Baughman finished last with 347 votes, 5.1 percent of the votes cast.
Although this was only his first election, Chmiel said he has seen great support from the county and will team up with Athens Democrats to turn November into a victory.
Sullivan said he endorses Chmiel but declined to comment further.
O’Brien wished Chmiel luck in the general election and said he hopes important issues, such as hydraulic fracturing and domestic partnerships, will continue to be highlighted through November.
“Our night may be finished, but our work definitely isn’t,” O’Brien said.
Tuesday’s Democratic winner, Adkins, will be duking it out for the second commissioner seat in the coming general election against Payne, who ran unopposed in the primary.
Adkins narrowly defeated fellow Democrat Gary Edwards by a 1.32-percent margin. Adkins received 50.66 percent of the vote, while Edwards won 49.34 percent.
The final count between Adkins and Edwards was 3,344 votes to 3,257, respectively.
“I was relieved. The campaign was tough on my family, and I’m sure it was tough on my competitor’s family,” Adkins said. “I wish the best for my opponent and his family. We’ve always been good to one another, so hopefully we can get back to that feeling.”
Edwards could not be reached for comment.
Though the results are not yet official, Payne said he has a reputation to be proud of and will make that his platform in the general election.
The official results of Tuesday’s primary election will be posted March 23 after absentee ballots are counted, according to the Board of Elections.
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